Abandoned Mall: White Lakes Mall in Topeka, KS

The White Lakes Mall (or Center) in Topeka, Kansas has definitely seen better days. This used to be a happening mall in the 1960's, but now, in 2011, the mall is clearly deteriorating. The wood floor (not there in the 60's) is falling apart and buckling up, apparently due to water damage. The ceiling is not much better either, with many spots and stains. The leaves from the overgrown trees are all over the floor, adding to the deserted feeling.
R.I.P White Lakes Mall
P.S. I used a Panorama app on my iTouch to take some of the pictures, but when making the video the panoramas didn't quite work out. So I had to split them into separate pictures, those are the ones with the odd black borders (that's how they are recorded in the app). Still worked out well though!

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Joyland Amusement Park - Abandoned Park - Kansas - U.S.A.
Joyland Amusement Park - Abandoned Park - Kansas - U.S.A.
Joyland Amusement Park is a former amusement park in Wichita, Kansas,
United States. It was in continuous operation for 55 years, from June 12,
1949, to 2004. The park was once the largest theme park in central Kansas
and featured a wooden roller coaster and 24 other rides. Today, the site is
closed.
The park was founded by Lester Ottaway and his sons Herbert and Harold to
serve as the home for a miniature 12-inch (300 mm) gauge steam locomotive
that Herb Ottaway had purchased in Fort Scott, back in 1933. The train had
been part of a defunct amusement park there and was originally built by the
Miniature Railway Company of Elgin, Illinois, between 1905 and 1910. By
1934, Herb Ottaway, who worked as a race car builder, had fully refurbished
and restored the steam locomotive and cars and began transporting the
miniature train to county fairs in western Kansas and eastern Colorado.
Ottaway soon built a track for his miniature locomotive around the Manitou
Springs, Colorado, racetrack and operated the train there for some time.
The current location of the park came into existence on June 12, 1949,
primarily to give Harold’s miniature locomotive a permanent home in
Kansas. It was originally located at 1515 East Central in Wichita (between
New York and Mathewson streets) but soon moved to its current location at
2801 South Hillside. After Lester Ottaway’s death in the mid-1950s, his
three sons, Herbert, Harold and Eddie, continued running it as a family
operation.
The Ottaway brothers retired from the amusement park business in the early
1970s and sold the park to Stanley and Margaret Nelson. Stanley died on
July 13, 2010, at the age of 87. He and Margaret were the driving force
behind the park for over 30 years and a large percentage of its current
rides, including the Bill Tracy-designed prototype Whacky Shack dark ride,
added in 1974, come from the Nelsons' time as owners. Though there are a
few Whacky Shacks still in use across the country today, this classic
two-story dark ride was the last known project of Tracy's, as he died in
August 1974, just a few months after its completion. In addition, the
original miniature train retired with the Ottaways and was replaced with
the first-ever C.P. Huntington miniature train. It carries serial number 1
from the factory.
Due to economical troubles and safety concerns the park had to close for
the 2004 season. Interest in the park sparked again in 2006 when a Seattle
based company, T-Rex Group, leased the park to restore and open portions of
the park. After financial concerns with the park, the T-Rex group did not
open the park for another season. Joyland has now sat since 2006 without
any maintenance and continually deteriorates.
All images are either in the Public Domain or on Google images labeled for
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Text by wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyland_Amusement_Park_%28Wichita,_Kansas%29
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